Samsung is in the process of testing a new Good Lock module, Gallery Assistant which seems to greatly enhance the stock gallery app for power users. First spotted by users in Korea through Samsung Members (thanks to XDA Developers for the tipoff), the beta unifies Samsung’s more advanced photo and video features under one roof, including tools not found in the stock editor within One UI.
A toolkit designed for power editing
Per community screenshots and tester descriptions, Gallery Assistant is—okay, wait for it — a practical feature that bundles in workflow-focused: Batch subject extraction (20 images at one time), a compression slider that targets “photos and videos” with HEVC support, robust watermarks include tiled/ repeated marks.Then there’s the quick conversion of images to be PDFed so they may easily shared/archived.
There is even an image comparison view, rotate/flip options, and even streamlined printing from within the module. Some of this is already in the normal Gallery editor, the upside to these is consolidation and control. Compression, for example, is often buried in export menus; Gallery Assistant brings it to the forefront, makes it tweakable and treats it as a first-class action for creators who frequently trade quality for file size.
Why Good Lock is the perfect test bed
Good Lock is the area Samsung enthusiasts go to for extremely granular customization, with modules that frequently serve as previews or test runs for upcoming One UI features. The Housing Gallery Assistant in Good Lock allows Samsung to iterate rapidly and target features directly at users who will push them the most. That’s the same game plan that saw Camera Assistant grow into a must-install add-on for all-around fiddling with shutter behavior, softening, auto HDR, distortion correction and even saving videos to external storage.
By carving out advanced capabilities from its default editor, Samsung spares mainstream users a bloated experience while granting prosumers and business more of the editing tools they’ve been clamoring for. If feedback is good, certain features could be brought into the core Gallery app at a later stage, something which has occurred with other Good Lock concepts in the past.
Availability and device support
For now, early access is limited to those in Korea, with registration taking place through the Samsung Members app. Beta testers have been told the first beta will go live for devices on One UI 8, which specifically notes the Galaxy S25 series and both the latest foldables, aka Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Galaxy Z Flip 7/FE. Like the majority of Good Lock modules, wider regional availability typically comes after the feedback cycles however there are no promises about when.
Sensible real world use cases
The mix of batch subject extraction and tile-based watermarks is a powerful brew for content creators and individual artists. Photographers may isolate subjects from multiple images in a single stroke, and brands can overlay repeating watermarks on pictures to reduce unauthorized cropping. A real estate group might shrink dozens of listing photos, and add a watermark to each, before uploading them to portals, thus preserving their quality while reducing storage and bandwidth costs.
Video creators have something to gain from the HEVC option: it’s a codec that maintains fidelity at low bitrates, making it great for long-form or social-ready reels. And students and professionals get simple yet strong clerical tools —rearranging scans into PDFs, rotating and printing, comparing early edits without launching a separate app.
How it compares to Google Photos, iOS
Google Photos makes big — very big — promises with cloud-based features and AI assist tools, such as Magic Eraser.And Apple’s Photos app is all about clean, integrated editing with fewer batch utilities. Samsung is developing a market for utility-first, on-device workflows. Gallery Assistant’s focus on compression control, bulk subject extraction and watermarking is best suited to pro and semi-pro requirements too – you won’t have to keep revisiting your desktop editor just to simplify the images further still or resorting to using third-party applications.
And that local-first approach is also an appealing one for those who are concerned about their privacy. On-device editing, conversion and watermarking prevent the need to upload sensitive media to external services – a key topic of conversation on user forums, and within organisations who buy in enterprise-grade solutions.
What to watch next
If history is any guide, Samsung will iterate fast based on tester feedback in Korea. I’d also expect batch limits to stabilize, UI to get polished and even perhaps some of the hooks into other modules such as Camera Assistant or Multistar for cross-device workflows. It will be interesting to see if Samsung makes these tools available through Share Sheet actions directly from the Gallery and not just within the Good Lock module, for seamless day-to-day use.
Community reports (via SamMobile and XDA) note this is more than a small add-on — it’s an indication that Samsung wants its stock Gallery to be capable enough for serious creators without being overwhelming for casual users.
If Gallery Assistant takes off globally, this could end up being the default utility belt of Galaxy owners who edit, brand and publish from their phones every day.
Sources: Samsung Members community posts (Korea); user-provided screenshots and translations; Samsung’s own descriptions of various Good Lock and Camera Assistant functions; general industry comparisons made using publicly available documentation from Google and Apple.